HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL: Rasheed Wallace becomes Trenton's all-time top scorer in win over Notre Dame

TRENTON — Rasheed Wallace got the points he needed yesterday, then concentrated on getting the win he wanted more.

Wallace, the 6-foot-1 senior guard, became Trenton High’s all-time leading boys basketball scorer by scoring 24 points, but it was the defense he played in the last quarter, which helped the Tornadoes get their revenge against Notre Dame with a 70-57 win at a packed Tornado Alley.

Wallace tied former record holder Lew Hill (Class of 1971) with a free throw with 1:52 left in the first half, but had to wait until he drained a 3-pointer with 6:45 left in the third quarter to take sole possession of Trenton’s all-time mark. He finished the game with 1,107 points.

“I didn’t think I would get it so quick,” Wallace said of his accomplishment. “Since I’ve been playing for (head coach) Greg Grant, I’ve been scoring a lot easier.”

Advertisement

There was an outside chance that both Wallace and Notre Dame six-foot senior guard Isaiah Johnson would become the leading scorers for their respective schools on the same night. Through three quarters, that appeared to be a good possibility. After Johnson made a basket and was fouled with 3:50 left in the third quarter, he recorded his 19th point. However, after missing the free throw, Johnson was held scoreless the rest of the way with Wallace doing most of the hard work to keep from having to share the night.

“I wanted to shut him down because I wanted to win badly,” Wallace said. “I had to do what I had to for the team to get this win.”

Even without any more points from Johnson, who has 1,439 points on his career, eight behind 2002 grad Sean Cooke, the school leader, the Irish made what started as a blowout into a three-point game when Nazier Chew (10 points) scored on a fastbreak with 4:12 left to get the visitors as close as 53-50 in the fourth quarter. But even a high-flying alley-oop slam by Josh Williams (11 points) with 2:10 remaining could not save Notre Dame because it did not do the one thing it needed to do most down the stretch — stop Wallace.

With Trenton desperately clinging to what remained of what once had been a 21-point lead, Wallace took the game over. His eight consecutive points in the middle of the fourth quarter put the visitors in a 59-50 hole with 3:24 remaining after Wallace knocked away a loose ball between Chew and Johnson. As both Irish players fell to the floor, Wallace raced ahead for a breakaway layup.

“With the score at 47-42, four times we got the ball back, then turned it over,” ND head coach Bob Turco said. “Our offense beat our defense tonight.”

As much as they wanted Wallace to get his points, the Tornadoes made it obvious they wanted the win from the get-go as they raced to a 29-8 lead after the first 8:25. With big men Brandon George and Daquan Hargrove balancing the attack with 14 and 13 points, respectively, and Wallace’s backcourt mate Shaquan Worthy scoring 13 more, Trenton was able to withstand the Irish’s surge and avenge their 64-63 loss at ND back on Jan. 15. All the while, the Tornadoes and their fans took equal time to honor Wallace as the school’s new top scorer.